SUSTAINABILITY / SECTOR LENSES
Find your way in by sector
The same sustainability frameworks apply differently depending on where you operate. These lenses cut across our full framework to show what matters most for your sector — which obligations apply, where to start, and how value chains connect to landscape.
Sector lenses are a cross-cutting navigation layer, not a separate framework tier. Each page links across Policy & Governance, Actors, Landscapes, and Data Flows — a guided path through the full system, organised by the industry you work in.
What sectors are — and why they shape your obligations
In sustainability, your sector determines which regulations apply to you, which voluntary frameworks are expected by buyers and investors in your industry, and where your material impacts are most likely to sit. A farm and a fashion brand may both eventually engage with CDP or commit to net zero — but the entry point, the regulatory floor, and the relevant certifications are entirely different. Sector is the first filter that turns the full framework landscape into a navigable set of obligations for your specific business.
Several major framework bodies organise their guidance by industry. Understanding which sector you sit in — and which taxonomy each framework uses — is the starting point for making sense of what applies to you.
Framework bodies that approach sustainability sectorally
SASB / ISSB
77 industry-specific standards across 11 sectors. IFRS S1/S2 (the global baseline for financial sustainability disclosure) references SASB industry guidance for material topic identification. The most granular sector approach in financial disclosure — used by analysts, ESG raters, and investors.
GRI (Global Reporting Initiative)
Sector standards for the highest-impact industries: Agriculture Aquaculture & Fishing, Coal, Metals & Mining, Oil & Gas, Financial Services — more in development. GRI sector standards sit on top of universal standards and add industry-specific disclosure topics.
SBTi (Science Based Targets)
Sector-specific decarbonisation pathways — buildings, transport, power, steel, cement, chemicals, pulp & paper, and FLAG (forest, land & agriculture). Your net zero target methodology depends on which pathway applies to your industry. A building company and a steel manufacturer follow entirely different trajectories.
TNFD (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures)
Sector guidance organised around nature exposure and dependency: Agriculture, Food & Beverage, Consumer Goods, Financial Institutions, Metals & Mining, Real Estate, Tourism, Utilities. Which sectors face the most acute nature-related financial risk shapes how TNFD applies in practice.
CDP
Questionnaire routing is sector-sensitive — which environmental themes are material for your industry, and which detailed questions appear within them, depends on your sector classification. A food company sees different questions to a bank, even within the same Climate questionnaire.
ESRS (European Sustainability Reporting Standards)
Sector-specific standards are being developed alongside the cross-cutting universal standards. Construction, agriculture, energy, financial services, mining, and textiles are already scoped for sector standards. Large companies in scope will need both the universal and sector-specific ESRS.
Finding your sector — a practical prompt
If you run a small or mid-size business, you may appear in more than one taxonomy simultaneously. A food manufacturer sits in Agriculture (SASB), Consumer Goods (TNFD), and Food & Beverage (GRI) at the same time. These lenses do not replicate any single official classification — they group industries by shared regulatory obligations and supply chain structure, which is more useful for navigation than any formal list.
Start with the question your buyer, banker, or regulator is most likely to ask you:
Not sure? Browse the sector cards below. Each one opens a page showing which actor roles, frameworks, and entry points apply — you do not need to know the right answer before you start reading.
Finance & Investment
IFRS S2, SFDR, UK SDR, TNFD — the highest regulatory velocity of any sector.
Built Environment
Architecture, construction, real estate, and cities — distinct obligations at every scale.
Agriculture & Food Systems
EUDR, nature dependencies, carbon farming, supply chain traceability.
Land & Nature
Rewilding, NbS, biodiversity credits, landscape stewardship — the value chain foundation.
Energy & Utilities
Grid decarbonisation, renewable procurement, ESOS compliance.
Manufacturing & Supply Chain
CBAM, EUDR compliance, Scope 3 supplier engagement.
Retail & Consumer
Green Claims Directive, EUDR, digital product passports, packaging rules.
Transport & Mobility
Fleet electrification, aviation SAF, shipping IMO targets, urban mobility.
How sector lenses connect to the full framework
Sector is one way to navigate the sustainability system. Our full framework maps six layers from planetary foundations to consumer demand, with cross-cutting systems and actor roles throughout. Sector lenses are a path through that framework, organised for practitioners who think by industry rather than by framework or layer.
Actors
Where do you sit in the ecosystem? End Demand, Demand Side, Enablers, Connectors, or Value Creators.
View actor map →Policy & Governance
The full framework landscape — mandatory disclosure, voluntary standards, global goals.
View frameworks →Landscapes
Where value chains originate — ecosystem services and the landscape layer that underpins every sector.
Explore landscapes →